The ‘myth of Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) as post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for the prevention of COVID-19’ is far from reality
Abstract The efficacy of Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) as post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for the prevention of COVID-19 was contentious. In this randomized control double-blind clinical trial, asymptomatic individuals with direct contact with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases were randomized into PEP/...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-26053-w |
| _version_ | 1797958647096016896 |
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| author | Deba Prasad Dhibar Navneet Arora Deepak Chaudhary Ajay Prakash Bikash Medhi Neeraj Singla Ritin Mohindra Vikas Suri Ashish Bhalla Navneet Sharma Mini P. Singh P. V. M. Lakshmi Kapil Goyal Arnab Ghosh |
| author_facet | Deba Prasad Dhibar Navneet Arora Deepak Chaudhary Ajay Prakash Bikash Medhi Neeraj Singla Ritin Mohindra Vikas Suri Ashish Bhalla Navneet Sharma Mini P. Singh P. V. M. Lakshmi Kapil Goyal Arnab Ghosh |
| author_sort | Deba Prasad Dhibar |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The efficacy of Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) as post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for the prevention of COVID-19 was contentious. In this randomized control double-blind clinical trial, asymptomatic individuals with direct contact with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases were randomized into PEP/HCQ (N = 574) and control/placebo (N = 594) group. The PEP/HCQ group received tablet HCQ 400 mg q 12 hourly on day one followed by 400 mg once weekly for 3 weeks, and the control/Placebo group received matching Placebo. The incidence of COVID-19 was similar (p = 0.761) in PEP [N = 24 out of 574, (4.2%)] and control [N = 27 out of 594, (4.5%)] groups. Total absolute risk reduction for the incidence of new-onset COVID-19 was -0.3% points with an overall relative risk of 0.91 (95% confidence interval, 0.52 to 1.60) and the number needed to treat (NNT) was 333 to prevent the incident of one case of COVID-19. The study found that, PEP with HCQ was not advantageous for the prevention of COVID-19 in asymptomatic individuals with high risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Though HCQ is a safer drug, the practice of irrational and indiscriminate use of HCQ for COVID-19 should be restrained with better pharmacovigilance. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T00:22:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-778001a574534b65a9a952e03e2eeb83 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T00:22:57Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-778001a574534b65a9a952e03e2eeb832023-01-08T12:12:14ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222023-01-0113111010.1038/s41598-022-26053-wThe ‘myth of Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) as post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for the prevention of COVID-19’ is far from realityDeba Prasad Dhibar0Navneet Arora1Deepak Chaudhary2Ajay Prakash3Bikash Medhi4Neeraj Singla5Ritin Mohindra6Vikas Suri7Ashish Bhalla8Navneet Sharma9Mini P. Singh10P. V. M. Lakshmi11Kapil Goyal12Arnab Ghosh13Department of Internal Medicine, PGIMERDepartment of Internal Medicine, PGIMERDepartment of Internal Medicine, PGIMERDepartment of Pharmacology, PGIMERDepartment of Pharmacology, PGIMERDepartment of Internal Medicine, PGIMERDepartment of Internal Medicine, PGIMERDepartment of Internal Medicine, PGIMERDepartment of Internal Medicine, PGIMERDepartment of Internal Medicine, PGIMERDepartment of Virology, PGIMERCommunity Medicine and School of Public Health, PGIMERDepartment of Virology, PGIMERDepartment of Virology, PGIMERAbstract The efficacy of Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) as post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for the prevention of COVID-19 was contentious. In this randomized control double-blind clinical trial, asymptomatic individuals with direct contact with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases were randomized into PEP/HCQ (N = 574) and control/placebo (N = 594) group. The PEP/HCQ group received tablet HCQ 400 mg q 12 hourly on day one followed by 400 mg once weekly for 3 weeks, and the control/Placebo group received matching Placebo. The incidence of COVID-19 was similar (p = 0.761) in PEP [N = 24 out of 574, (4.2%)] and control [N = 27 out of 594, (4.5%)] groups. Total absolute risk reduction for the incidence of new-onset COVID-19 was -0.3% points with an overall relative risk of 0.91 (95% confidence interval, 0.52 to 1.60) and the number needed to treat (NNT) was 333 to prevent the incident of one case of COVID-19. The study found that, PEP with HCQ was not advantageous for the prevention of COVID-19 in asymptomatic individuals with high risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Though HCQ is a safer drug, the practice of irrational and indiscriminate use of HCQ for COVID-19 should be restrained with better pharmacovigilance.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-26053-w |
| spellingShingle | Deba Prasad Dhibar Navneet Arora Deepak Chaudhary Ajay Prakash Bikash Medhi Neeraj Singla Ritin Mohindra Vikas Suri Ashish Bhalla Navneet Sharma Mini P. Singh P. V. M. Lakshmi Kapil Goyal Arnab Ghosh The ‘myth of Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) as post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for the prevention of COVID-19’ is far from reality Scientific Reports |
| title | The ‘myth of Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) as post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for the prevention of COVID-19’ is far from reality |
| title_full | The ‘myth of Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) as post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for the prevention of COVID-19’ is far from reality |
| title_fullStr | The ‘myth of Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) as post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for the prevention of COVID-19’ is far from reality |
| title_full_unstemmed | The ‘myth of Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) as post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for the prevention of COVID-19’ is far from reality |
| title_short | The ‘myth of Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) as post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for the prevention of COVID-19’ is far from reality |
| title_sort | myth of hydroxychloroquine hcq as post exposure prophylaxis pep for the prevention of covid 19 is far from reality |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-26053-w |
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